Nine years after the 2017 presidential election, François Fillon has broken his silence at length. The former Prime Minister under Nicolas Sarkozy reflects on the campaign that precipitated his political downfall, the scandal surrounding his wife Penelope's jobs, and his elimination in the first round. In a nearly two-hour interview with Guillaume Pley for the program Legend , he asserts that the legal case that erupted during the campaign cost him the presidency. He also offers a particularly harsh assessment of the Emmanuel Macron years and states that today, faced with the same choice as in 2017 in the second round against Marine Le Pen, he would no longer vote for him.
"This affair cost me the presidential election."
François Fillon leaves little room for doubt when he looks back on the 2017 election. "This affair cost me the presidential election ," asserts the former Republican candidate. In January 2017, just weeks after winning the center-right primary and appearing to be one of the frontrunners for the presidency, revelations concerning his wife Penelope Fillon's employment disrupted his campaign. The candidate nevertheless decided to remain in the race despite the opening of an investigation and his being formally charged. On April 23, 2017, he ultimately obtained just over 20% of the vote in the first round, behind Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen . For the first time under the Fifth Republic, the mainstream right was thus absent from the second round of a presidential election.
A legal case that is now definitively settled.
The legal proceedings continued well after the presidential election. François Fillon was finally convicted in June 2025 and sentenced to four years' suspended imprisonment, a €375,000 fine, and a five-year ban from holding public office in the Penelope Fillon employment scandal. This conviction became final in February 2026 after he withdrew his appeal to the Court of Cassation. Just days before this latest public statement, a further consequence of his conviction was officially announced. A decree published on August 20, 2026, suspended François Fillon from the Legion of Honour for ten years. He was also suspended for the same period from the National Order of Merit.
François Fillon severely criticizes Emmanuel Macron's record
The former Prime Minister also used this interview to offer a highly critical assessment of the Macron years. In 2017, after his elimination in the first round, François Fillon called on his voters to support Emmanuel Macron over Marine Le Pen. Nine years later, he states that he would not make the same choice. François Fillon believes that the situation in France has deteriorated significantly and specifically criticizes the policies implemented since 2017. The former LR candidate, who withdrew from political life after his defeat, no longer hides his disagreements with the man he had nevertheless supported in the second round.
Faced with Marine Le Pen, he would no longer vote for Macron
This is one of the strongest political statements of his return to the media. When asked about his choice between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen in 2017, François Fillon explained that his decision would be different today. If he had to make the choice again, he would not vote for Emmanuel Macron. This position marks a clear break with the one he defended on the evening of the first round in 2017. At the time, François Fillon had unequivocally called for blocking Marine Le Pen. Nearly a decade later, he now refuses to renew that support for Emmanuel Macron.
Nine years after 2017, Fillon wants to "settle scores"
This speech is one of François Fillon's longest since his withdrawal from political life. The former Prime Minister explains that he wants to "settle scores, tell his truth" about a period that abruptly ended his presidential ambitions. The interview goes far beyond the Penelopegate scandal. François Fillon discusses his political career, immigration, the situation in the country, the tensions running through French society, and his relationships with several political figures. He focuses particularly on the 2017 campaign, which, nine years later, remains central to his discourse. At 72, François Fillon does not present this speech as an announcement of an electoral comeback. But a few months before the 2027 presidential election, his remarks about Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen give a very political dimension to his return to the media. The former right-wing candidate remains convinced of one thing: without the scandal that erupted at the beginning of 2017, his political destiny could have been radically different.
